


to those who wait forever for ships that don't come in

by OverlyCheerfulRat



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Soldiers, Tragedy, World War I
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:47:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 469
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23095087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverlyCheerfulRat/pseuds/OverlyCheerfulRat
Summary: In the trenches of World War 1, a boy with blue eyes reminds Geralt of his daughter.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Comments: 3
Kudos: 41





	to those who wait forever for ships that don't come in

Geralt read Yennefer's letters in the trench, Jaskier leaning against him. Even before they got to the front line, as soon as they were near the battlefield Jaskier couldn't be pried away from Geralt for the world. He was the youngest member of their regiment, and the most afraid. He was barely eighteen, and the first thing he told Geralt was that he played the violin, as if that was relevant.

He had big blue eyes, and he reminded Geralt of his daughter Ciri. She was younger, yes, but they had the same cheerful innocence about them. It was that resemblance that made Geralt so protective of him, this weak little private who could hardly hold a gun. He couldn't imagine Ciri in this hell, surrounded by the whistle of incoming bombs, the ceaseless machine gun fire. (Secretly, though, he thought she might fare better than Jaskier, who'd cried and wet himself when a grenade went off near them, killing two men.)

Back at home, Yennefer grew fond of the boy as well, and she found herself lying awake worrying about two soldiers. First and foremost was always her husband, tall and muscular with strange yellow eyes, scarred from previous combat and resigned to the blood on his hands. And second, in the back of her thoughts, was a young boy with frightened blue eyes and fingers calloused from violin strings.

The newspapers printed a list of the dead every day, and every day Yennefer read it with a racing heart, not breathing until she'd gone over each name twice. Her worst fear was realized halfway through the 3/5/1916 paper, when she saw the name _Geralt Rivia_ halfway down the list. It was followed shortly after by _Julian Pankratz _.__

__She told herself that it must have been quick, probably an explosion, something they wouldn't even know had happened until they woke up on the other side. She was half right, because it had been an explosion that killed them, but not immediately. She never knew that Jaskier had lain screaming in Geralt's arms, his legs blown off, thrashing desperately in an blind panic that only made him bleed out faster. She never knew that Geralt could have survived if he hadn't stopped to hold him, could have gotten out of the way of the second grenade in time._ _

__She never knew that he wouldn't have moved anyway, not after seeing Jaskier's blue eyes roll back in his head and feeling his body still, not after realizing how small the boy was in his arms. He wouldn't have left him alone, couldn't have left this child who sang to himself under his breath, who cried in his sleep, who was petrified of dying so far from his home. He stayed with him until the end and past it._ _


End file.
